Tiz The Law on the hunt for Triple Crown glory after easy win in Belmont Stakes

It may not be a Triple Crown in the conventional sense, but Tiz The Law is now the only horse who can claim the illustrious honour this year after victory in Saturday's Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in New York.

Traditionally, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, while the Belmont Stakes is the last leg. But the coronavirus pandemic has forced a reshuffle of the running order, meaning the Belmont Stakes became the opening challenge for Triple Crown hopefuls.

There was also a change to the distance of the race, with Tiz The Law winning over 1m1f, instead of the usual 1m4f. But none of the tweaks to the schedule or race conditions mattered to Barclay Tagg, trainer of Tiz The Law.

"It looked to me like everything went like clockwork," the veteran trainer told the Bloodhorse following Tiz The Law's emphatic three and three quarter length victory.

Bred by Twin Creeks Farm in Marcy, New York, Tiz The Law became the first New York-bred winner of the Belmont since 1882.

Jack Knowlton, managing partner of owners Sackatoga Stable, acknowledged Tiz The Law's achievement, and said: "It's tremendous [to win the Belmont Stakes with a New York-bred]. We buy New York-breds that's our game and we don't spend a lot of money. We've been with Barclay Tagg for 25 years, and I keep telling everybody Barclay doesn't get a lot of big horses, big opportunities, but when he does, he knows what to do. We had a great and amazing day."

Sent off the 4-5 favourite, Tiz The Law travelled strongly in third for Manuel Franco, and when the jockey let the colt down in the home run, Tiz The Law quickened clear easily in front of the eerily empty grandstands for a dominant success. Second went to Dr Post with Max Player in third.

With the Kentucky Derby not until September 5 and the Preakness moved back to October 3, Tiz The Law has the chance to win more Grade 1 prizes before returning to the Triple Crown trail, with the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 8 nominated as his next target.

Belmont Stakes result

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